Form tool holder

ABSTRACT

A form tool holder adapted to be mounted on the slide of an automatic screw machine. The tool holder has a base provided with a guide opening in which the shank of a tool carrier is slidably fitted. The base is slotted along one side of the guide opening to define a deflectable base wall which can be clamped against the carrier shank to lock the carrier in any desired position. The base has a key on its lower surface which is adjustable about a pivot axis to facilitate squaring of the base to a keyway on the slide. The carrier is reversible in the base guideway for either upcutting or downcutting and it can be set for either right hand, left hand or zero tool relief.

nited States atent Brown, H 1 June 13, 1972 FORM TOOL HOLDER PrimaryExaminer-Leonidas Vlachos [72] Inventor. Robert S. Brown, I], GrassLake, Mich. Anomey Hamess Dickey & Pierce [73] Assignees Federal ScrewWorks, Detroit, Mich. 221 Filed: May 19, 1970 [57] ABSIRACT A form toolholder adapted to be mounted on the slide of an [21] Appl' automaticscrew machine. The tool holder has a base provided with a guide openingin which the shank of a tool carrier is [1.8. CI. fined The base isslotted along one side of the guide [51] h t. Cl ..B23b 29/10 opening tod fi a d fl t bl base n which can be [58] Fleld ofseal'ch ..32/36, 35clamped against the carrier Shank to |ock the carrier in any desiredposition. The base has a key on its lower surface which [56] Referencesand is adjustable about a pivot axis to facilitate squaring of theUNITED STATES PATENTS base to a keyway on the slide. The carrier isreversible in the base guideway for either upcuttmg or downcuttmg and itcan 3,142,215 7/1964 Mancuso ..82/36 b set f ith r ri ht ha d left handor zero tool relief.

Frank Clatfelter 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN 13 m2 -1.. I I1w SHEET 10F 2 1 FORM TOOL HOLDER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The form toolholders in common use on automatic screw machines and a type requiring arelatively skilled machinist to install and set up the tool holder onthe machine. Furthermore, the readjustment of the usual tool holder tocompensate for the grinding of the tool, for example, also requires theskills of an experienced workman. The tool holder of the presentinvention is designed to permit original installation and readjustmentof the tool in a highly precise and convenient manner by workmen oflimited experience and skills.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a form tool holderwhich is highly versatile in use, which. may be set for either upcuttingor downcutting, and which may be set to provide either right hand, lefthand relief or zero tool relief.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a form toolholder in which the squareness of the tool cutting edge to the work maybe set with great precision by the mere rotation of a pair of setscrews, thereby simplifying the removal of taper.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a formtool holder in which the axial position of the tool may be adjustedwithout disturbing the transverse position or squareness of the toolholder on the slide.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a form toolholder which is highly accurate in nature, is rugged in design, iscompact in size, possesses a minimum number of parts for theadjustability incorporated therein, is relatively inexpensive tomanufacture and is reliable in performance.

1 DESCRIPTION Tl-IE vIEws OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view partly insection and partly in elevation of a form tool holder constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1 takenalong the line 3-3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2 takenalong the line 44 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1 takenalong the line 5-5 thereof; and

FIG. 6 is a view of structure similarly illustrated in FIG. 5 showingthe use of another key.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS.1 and 2 the tool holder of the present invention will be seen to includea cast metallic base 12 which is adapted to be positioned on the slide(not shown) of an automatic screw machine. For this purpose a pair ofelongated T-nuts' 14 are used, each having a pair of tapped holes. Apair of bolts 16 are threaded into the nuts 14 on one side of the base12 and a pair of bolts 17 are threaded into the nuts 14 on the otherside of the base 12. The base 12 also has a flat bottom surface 18 whichrests on the machine side. For the purposes of description it will beassumed that the base 12 is positioned with its bottom surface 18 in adownwardly facing horizontal attitude. It will be appreciated, however,that the tool holder will assume various attitudes depending upon theparticular machine with which it is used and the particular slide onwhich it is mounted. A large cylindrical guide opening or bore 20extends from a flat rear surface 22 of the base to a base front surface24. A slot 26 extends from the guide opening 20 to a side wall on oneside of the base 12. A side wall 27 is located on the opposite of thebase 12. The slot 26 extends the entire length of the base 12 from therear wall 22 to the front wall 24. The formation of the slot 26 forms adeflectable wall 28 at the upper portion of the base 12. The deflectablewall 28 is of generally arcuate cross-sectional shape but has a flat lip30 along its free edge. The lip 30 has a shoulder 32 on the uppersurface thereof which is coplanar with a shoulder 34 formed on the uppersurface of the base 12 adjacent the side wall 27. i

The lip 30 is formed with two openings 36 extending verticallytherethrough and of a size sufficient to permit the heads of the bolts17 to pass therethrough. The heads of the bolts 17 seat withincounterbores 39 of holes 40 which extend downwardly in the base 12 fromthe slot 26 through the bottom surface 18. On the opposite side of thedeflectable wall 28 it will be seen that the heads of the bolts 16 seaton the shoulder 34, the bolts 16 passing freely through vertical holes42 extending from the shoulder 34 through the bottom surface 18 of thebase 12. One bolt 16 and one bolt 17 are threaded into each of theT-nuts 14. From the foregoing it will be apparent that the seating ofthe bolts 17 is such as to avoid interference with the movement of thedeflectable wall 28.

It will be seen that the inner diameter of the deflectable wall 28 fonnsa portion of the guide opening 20. The deflectable wall 28 can be drawninwardly to clamp anything positioned in the guide opening 20 by meansof a pair of clamping screws 44 which pass freely through openings 45formed in the lip 30 and are threaded into tapped bores 46 extendingdownwardly into the base 12 from the slot 26.

A carrier or tool support member 48 is provided with a cylindrical shank50 positioned within the guide opening 20. The carrier 48 has a head 52formed on the front end thereof and a pair of diametrically opposite keyslots 54 and 55 positioned generally centrally of the shank 50. The keyslots 54 and 55 extend longitudinally of the shank 50 and a key 56 ispositioned in one of said slots. A bracket 58 is fixed to the carrierhead 52 and serves to support an adjustable stop member 60. A dovetailclamp 62 is fastened to the head 52 by means of screws 64 and clamps aform cutting tool 65 to the head. A coolant nozzle projects from theshank 50 above the head 52 and functions to direct coolant down onto thetool 65. The position of the nozzle is adjustable and may be fixed bymeans of a set screw 67. The nozzle 66 receives coolant from anelongated coolant passage 68 which extends longitudinally of the shank50 and is adapted to be connected to a coolant hose (not shown) at aninlet opening 69.

A bracket 70 is fixed to the rear surface 22 of the base 12 and engagesthe head 72 of a micrometer adjusting screw 74. The relationship of thebracket 70 to the head 72 is such as to permit rotation of the adjustingscrew 74 but prevent longitudinal movement of the adjusting screw'74.The shank 50 is prohibited from rotating by the engagement of the key 56in a keyway 76 extending axially along one side of the guide boreopening 20. The key 56 has a pair of parallel walls 57 which areslidably engaged by the opposite sides of the keyway 76 and keep the keyslots 54 and 55 radially aligned therewith. The longitudinal position ofthe carrier 48 is adjusted by rotating the micrometer adjusting screw 74and thereafter tightening the screws 44 to cause the deflectable wall 28to clamp the carrier shank 50 in the selected position.

The position of the base 12 on a machine tool slide is controlled, inpart, by a key 78 which projects from the bottom surface 18. The key 78fits within a transverse keyway (not shown) of the machine slide aboveone of the T-nuts l4 and between one of the bolts 16 and one of thebolts 17. If the key 78 is absolutely square to the guide opening 28,the base will be squarely positioned on the machine slide. The means bywhich the key 78 is held to the base l2 permits the squaring of the keyon the base. The key 78 is formed with a segmentally cylindrical recess80 on one side thereof which receives a complementary boss 82 of a flatpivot member 84. The pivot member 84 is held by a pair of screws 86against a shoulder 88 recessed in the bottom surface 18 of the base 12.A flat side wall 90 of the boss 82 abuts a bottom surface 92 of therecess 80 to hold the key 78 against a bottom wall 96 of a base slot 94.The key 78 is free to pivot about the projection 82 and its angularposition is controlled by a pair of set screws 98 which are threadedthrough the base 12 and into the slot 94. The screws abut the oppositeends of a wall 100 formed on the opposite side of the key 78 from thecylindrical recess 80. The

screws 98 are located on opposite sides of a vertical plane extendinglongitudinally of the tool and intersecting the pivot axis of the key78. By advancing one of the set screws 98 and retracting the other ofsaid set screws the angular position of the key 78 may be adjusted. Itoccasionally happens that a cutting edge 102 of a particular tool 65will have been ground so that it is not perfectly square to the workwhen the tool is mounted on the head 52. Such a tool is said to possesstaper." Under these circumstances, the base 12 must be angled slightlyto compensate for or take out" the taper. This can be accomplished veryconveniently and accurately on the present tool holder by pivoting thekey 78 about its pivot axis the requisite amount.

One of the significant advantages of the tool holder relates to alongitudinal adjustment. If the form tool 65 has to be reground, thedeflectable wall 28 may be loosened, the adjusting screw 78 rotated toadvance the carrier 48 by an amount sufficient to compensate for themetal removed from the tool 65, and the clamping screws 44 retightenedto lock the carrier 48 in the new position. All of this may be donewithout disturbing the position of the base 12 on the machine slide. Inother words, longitudinal adjustment of the tool 65 is possible withoutdisturbing the basic longitudinal, transverse or angular positions ofthe base 12 on the machine slide.

The shape of the key 56 is such as to angularly position the carrier 48in what may be called a zero tool relief or perpendicular position. Inother words the cutting edge 102 of the cutting tool 65 will be in aplane parallel to the axis of rotation of the work. In many situations,however, the angular orientation of the tool 65 and its carrier 48 aredesirably canted to provide a relief for the cutting edge. Thisordinarily done when the nature of the work permits it in order toextend the life of the cutting edge 102. The design of the present toolpermits the automatic achievement of a 2 relief angle in eitherdirection by the use of an alternate key 104 (FIG. 6). The key 56 issimply removed from the key slot 54 and the key 104 is substituted forit. The key 104 has a pair of parallel side walls 106 and 108 which fitwithin the keyway 76 and are inclined 2 with respect to a radius throughthe center of the key slot 54. The side walls 106 and 108 arecircumferentially displaced relative to the walls 57 of the key 56 andangularly offset the carrier 48 by 2 with respect to the carrierposition when the key 56 is used. FIG. 6 shows the key 104 installed inthe slot 54 in one of two possible positions. By reversing the key 104the carrier shank 50 will be offset 2 in the opposite direction.

The tool holder is illustrated in the drawings with the tool carrier 48in an upcutting" position. In other words, the tool 65 is positionedwith its cutting edge 102 facing upwardly. The carrier 48 may also beset for downcutting by rotating the carrier 180. When this is done, thekey 56 or 104 is removed from the key slot 54 and inserted in the keyslot 55. It will be noted that no special fastenings or the like arerequired to hold the key 56 or 104 in the selected key slot as the keyis kept from coming out of the selected key slot by its fit in thekeyway 76. Whether the carrier 48 is set for either upcutting" ordowncutting" will depend upon the direction of rotation of the workrelative to the slide on which the tool holder is mounted, as will beapparent to anyone familiar with automatic screw machines.

What is claimed is:

1. A tool holder including a base having a mounting surface adapted tobe positioned on the slide of a machine tool, said base having a guideopening extending the length thereof and a slot extending between oneside of said guide opening and a side wall of said base, said slotextending the entire length of said guide opening and defining the freeend of a deflectable wall of said base, a tool carrier having a tool atone end thereof and a shank portion slidably disposed within said guideopening, an adjusting screw threaded into said shank portion foradjusting said shank longitudinally in said guide opening, clampingscrew means engageable with the free end of said deflectable wall andthreaded into said base for clamping said deflectable wall against saidshank portion and a plurality of mounting bolts extending through saidbase on opposite sides of said guide opening.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the mounting bolts on oneside of said base are positioned beneath said slot and the free end ofsaid deflectable wall has opening means providing access to the mountingbolts on said one side of said guide opening for the insertion, removaland tightening thereof.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 including interfitting key andkeyway means on said base and said shank portion whereby said shankportion is permitted to move longitudinally within said guide openingbut is restrained from rotating therein.

4. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a micrometer adjustingscrew mounted on said base and threadably engageable with said carrierfor adjusting said carrier longitudinally of said guide opening.

5. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a key projecting fromsaid mounting surface and means for adjusting said key about an axisnormal to said mounting surface.

6. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a keyway formed alongone side of said guide opening, a pair of key slots positioned ondiametrically opposite sides of said shank portion, and a key slidablein said keyway, said key being selectively fitted in one of said keyslots.

7. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a keyway on one of saidbase and shank portion and a key slot on the other of said base and saidshank portion, a pair of alternately usable keys adapted to be fitted insaid key slot and slidably fit in said keyway, one of said keys beingoperable to angularly displace said shank portion with respect to itsangular position in said guide opening when the other of said keys isused.

6. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a keyway formed alongone side of said guide opoening, a pair of key slots positioned ondiametrically opposite sides of said shank portion, and a key slidablein said keyway, said key being selectively fitted in one of said keyslots.

7. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a keyway on one of saidbase and shank portion and a key slot on the other of said base and saidshank portion, a pair of alternately usable keys adapted to be fitted insaid key slot and slidably fit in said keyway, one of said keys beingoperable to angularly displace said shank portion with respect to itsangular position in said guide opening when in other of said keys isused.

1. A tool holder including a base having a mounting surface adapted tobe positioned on the slide of a machine tool, said base having a guideopening extending the length thereof and a slot extending between oneside of said guide opening and a side wall of said base, said slotextending the entire length of said guide opening and defining the freeend of a deflectable wall of said base, a tool carrier having a tool atone end thereof and a shank portion slidably disposed within said guideopening, an adjusting screw threaded into said shank portion foradjusting said shank longitudinally in said guide opening, clampingscrew means engageable with the free end of said deflectable wall andthreaded into said base for clamping said deflectable wall against saidshank portion and a plurality of mounting bolts extending through saidbase on opposite sides of said guide opening.
 2. The structure set forthin claim 1 wherein the mounting bolts on one side of said base arepositioned beneath said slot and the free end of said deflectable wallhas opening means providing access to the mounting bolts on said oneside of said guide opening for the insertion, removal and tighteningthereof.
 3. The structure set forth in claim 1 including interfittingkey and keyway means on said base and said shank portion whereby saidshank portion is permitted to move longitudinally within said guideopening but is restrained from rotating therein.
 4. The structure setforth in claim 1 including a micrometer adjusting screw mounted on saidbase and threadably engageable with said carrier for adjusting saidcarrier longitudinally of said guide opening.
 5. The structure set forthin claim 1 including a key projecting from said mounting surface andmeans for adjusting said key about an axis normal to said mountingsurface.
 6. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a keyway formedalong one side of said guide opening, a pair of key slots positioned ondiametrically opposite sides of said shank portion, and a key slidablein said keyway, said key being selectively fitted in one of said keyslots.
 6. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a keyway formedalong one side of said guide opoening, a pair of key slots positioned ondiametrically opposite sides of said shank portion, and a key slidablein said keyway, said key being selectively fitted in one of said keyslots.
 7. The structure set forth in claim 1 including a keyway on oneof said base and shank portion and a key slot on the other of said baseand said shank portion, a pair of alternately usable keys adapted to befitted in said key slot and slidably fit in said keyway, one of saidkeys being operable to angularly displace said shank portion withrespect to its angular position in said guide opening when in other ofsaid keys is used.
 7. The structure set forth in claim 1 including akeyway on one of said base and shank portion and a key slot on the otherof said base and said shank portion, a pair of alternately usable keysadapted to be fitted in said key slot and slidably fit in said keyway,one of said keys being operable to angularly displace said shank portionwith respect to its angular position in said guide opening when theother of said keys is used.